Guns & Butter

A long time ago I listened to a lecture from a guy that was some sort of Financial Wizard. He said that we spend our money on Two Things… Guns and Butter. The terms are figurative… Allow me to explain.
Guns are Assets. Guns are things that either Hold Value or Gain Value over time. A Gun, if you buy it right, will be worth what you paid for it, and can even go up in value if you buy them right. That’s another subject all together, investing in guns… But I digress. A Classic Car can be considered a Gun Type Purchase… Property… Anything that becomes an Asset to you that either gains value in and of its self, or allows you to make profits because of it. Such as Tooling for your business.
Butter are things that either lose value over time or are consumed. For example, you can buy a pound of butter now, and in a couple months, you no longer have a pound of butter… it’s either been used up or has gone rancid. Butter is also those normal expenses we all have or frivolous spending… like that new boat you want. Because the value of that boat will go down over time.
Now, this sounds very wise to want to spend more on Guns than you do Butter. However this Financial Guru missed the 3rd and most important Thing that we Should be spending money on: MEMORIES.
Memories, or Experiences… These become Priceless in time. This is where you take your Loved Ones, friends and family… and you go do something together. A night out with your Wife. Taking a child to the Park and Ice Cream. Family Vacation. These are things that are far too often outside of the normal every day procedures for us… But they create bonds and memories. You can’t put a value on what you learn an how you grow when you get out and do things. This is Living Life… and when you are done with this life, on your death bed… Your regrets are going to be all those things that you didn’t do with those you loved. Or when you put something above a loved one in your priorities.
Of all those things you can buy in this life, Memories… These Experiences… are the only things we can take with us.
Invest Wisely.

Great point. Careful on the vacation though. I see too many families spending too much money on cruises, trips to Hawaii when they hardly have a savings plan. Do something local, go camping, stop spending big dollars. Memories don’t cost much but time and creativity.